Financial Secretary Paul Chan noted yesterday (Feb. 26) that in recent years, many members of the community have expressed concerns about illegal gambling in basketball in Hong Kong. According to the latest assessment by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the illegal betting amount for basketball last year reached HK$70 billion to HK$90 billion. To effectively combat illegal gambling activities, Chan said, the government will actively explore the regulation of basketball betting and invite the Jockey Club to submit proposals.

In response, the Jockey Club welcomed the government's suggestion, indicating that illegal basketball gambling has led to serious social issues such as loan sharking and enticing minors to gamble. Regulating basketball betting could effectively combat illegal gambling and bring significant tax revenue to the government, aligning with the public interest.

The Jockey Club plans to submit detailed proposals to the government shortly, looking forward to working closely with the government to implement this policy measure of regulating basketball betting as soon as possible.

Kenneth Fok expresses hopes to launch it before next NBA season

Legislative Council (LegCo) Member (Functional Constituency - Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication) Kenneth Fok believes that regulating basketball betting demonstrates the government's determination to combat illegal gambling activities and bring gambling revenue back to the legal market.

He noted that last year's illegal basketball betting reached HK$70 billion to HK$90 billion, indicating a substantial and ongoing demand for basketball betting activities among the public, which is currently only met through illegal means.

According to Fok, strengthening law enforcement has not resolved this issue, so it is necessary to regulate basketball betting to combat illegal gambling while bringing the related gambling revenue back to the legal market, which is expected to generate an additional HK$1.5 billion to HK$2 billion in gambling tax revenue annually for Hong Kong. 

Fok hopes that with everyone's efforts, basketball betting can be launched before the start of the next NBA season.

Another LegCo Member, vice president of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, Lawrence Tang, stated that from an educational perspective, it is impossible to support any gambling activities. However, given the government's current fiscal deficit, regulating basketball betting through a licensed organization like the Jockey Club could increase tax revenue.

When asked whether this promotes a gambling culture in society and leads to youth addiction, Tang believes that experiences from the regulation of football betting show that regulation does not lead to an increase in gambling among young people.

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